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I live by the motto that it’s never too early to start thinking about a Halloween costume. Even if you don’t share my passion for the one day of the year when dressing up like a weirdo is totally celebrated, you can’t deny that stores have started stocking black and orange decorations. And costume catalogs are probably flooding your mailbox as we speak. So, I figured it was about time I shared a how-to on Sophia’s costume from last year: A Starbucks grande iced pumpkin spice latte with whipped cream!

I already had an old slip and headband so the costume cost us less than $10 in felt and hot glue! When we were searching for ideas last year, we found lots of cute pictures (this blog post was our big inspiration) but there was no resource that really explained how to create the Starbucks logo and how to use felt to create the foam/whipped cream. But now, thanks to this blog post, there is!

You’ll need a tan dress (I had an old slip that fit Sophia loosely but these cheapies from Amazon are a great option), a plain headband, 2 one-foot square pieces of dark green felt, white felt (enough to make at least six 9-inch circles and eight 3.5-inch circles), felt glue, a black Sharpie (to write the “order” on the back of the “cup”), a hot glue gun, and whatever you want to wear underneath.

Search for the Starbucks logo online and make an enlarged print about 7 inches in diameter. To make the traceable template, you’ll need to cut it out. This will be super annoying and time-consuming and you’ll get carpal tunnel but just think about how awesome your costume is going to be and deal with it. Plus…good news! Since it’s symmetrical, you can cut half of it and just flip it over when tracing. (Be sure to have a bowl of mini pumpkins nearby to help you get in the holiday spirit!)

Use a black Sharpie to trace around the design.

Then flip your template over to trace the other side.

Next step: Stop and marvel at how good it’s looking!

Then — yup, you guessed it — just when you’re starting to get feeling back in your hand, more cutting! Once you’ve got it all cut out, glue down each part of the design with felt glue. (Felt glue is easier and less messy than hot glue so it’s best to use felt glue for this step.)

Soon it’ll look like this and all will be right with the world. (Don’t forget the nose, mouth and the little triangle in the middle of the crown.)

Then cut out the circle and you’re ready to glue the logo on the front of the dress. Just make sure you put it down low enough so you have plenty of room for the foam/whipped cream across the top.

To make the whipped cream you’ll need 5 or 6 white felt circles that are about 9 inches in diameter. If you want the foam to go across the back, you’ll need more. We decided against it because we wanted more room for the “drink order” on the back. (More on that later.) They don’t need to be perfect circles so don’t worry your pretty little head about making it precise. (The little ones pictured here are for the headband.)

To make the whipped cream, fold your felt in an accordion fold vertically along the dotted lines below. Add small horizontal lines of hot glue (it adheres faster than the felt glue) across the center to glue each section together. Then fold it along the middle and you’ve got a big, fluffy, frothy glob of whipped cream / foam! Use a thin line of hot glue along the center back of the felt to attached it to the dress.

To make the frothy headband, grab two of the smaller circles and glue them together with the headband running through the middle of it. This will be your base to build the straw and foam onto. Lots of tutorials suggested a paper towel roll with green paint but I had some extra green felt so I tried gluing it into a tube shape and it worked! Just use paper clips to hold it together while the glue sets. Once your straw is dry, cut 4 slits in the bottom of it and glue the tabs onto the circles on your headband. Again, use paper clips to keep it in place while it dries.

After the straw was glued in place, I added some more white felt over the green on the base to cover it up. Then I made the whipped cream with the small circles using the same method as I used on the dress.

Perfect!

To really make it look like a Starbucks cup, I wrote the “drink order” on the back with a black Sharpie. The order boxes from top to bottom are: Decaf, Shots, Syrup, Milk, Custom, and Drink. We customized Sophia’s with an X in the decaf box (to make it a decaf – duh), with a WC in the custom box (to add whipped cream) and PSL in the drink box (to make it a pumpkin spice latte). We also wrote her name but since they ALWAYS get it wrong at Starbucks, I wrote Sophie instead of Sophia. Check with your local barista to make sure your costume matches your real order!

I hope you liked this Starbucks latte costume tutorial. I’ll be back soon with some details on how we put together Lily’s rainbow unicorn / pegasus / pegi-corn (?) costume together.

I’ve already ordered gold and rust fabric to make my costume for this Halloween. Any guesses what I’m going to be?

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Hi all! I’m back with some more creativity in the kitchen. Emoji Rice Krispies Treats! (Just look at how good they came out. Believe me, I’m more shocked than you are!)

Before we get started, I need to give major props to Mister Krisp who is the one-and-only inspiration for this project. If you don’t know about her — and yes, this Mister is a her — Jessica Siskin is a NYC-based writer who just happens to make amazing dessert art with Rice Krispies treats. She has a huge following on Instagram and one of her most famous projects is her emojis. (While you’re checking out her Instagram, be sure to note her Rice Krispies tacos, her Rice Krispies burger and oh yeah, her Rice Krispies Drake. I figured the emojis would be a great project for me and the girls to make to take to a barbeque today. (Shout out to Kelli and Rob!)

The ingredients you’ll need are: 6 cups of Rice Krispies cereal, 3 tablespoons of butter, a 10 ounce bag of marshmallows, yellow food coloring, Pam cooking spray and frosting in the following colors: black, white, blue, red and pink. I bought tubes of Wilton decorating icing in black and red and then made a quick mini batch of white icing and used food coloring to make the other colors. (Note: I do NOT recommend the Wilton Ready-to-decorate cans. The frosting comes out too fast and it’s very hard to control.) For supplies, you’ll need a round cookie cutter and a Wilton #3 round piping tip. (If you want blush on some of the blushing emojis, you’ll also need red food coloring and a foam brush.)

The Rice Krispies treat directions are right on the cereal box: you melt the butter in a big saucepan on low, then add the marshmallows. As they melted, I added about 5-6 drops of yellow liquid food coloring to get the emoji color.

Then you remove it from the heat and stir in the Rice Krispies. We laid wax paper on cookie sheets (just to protect the table) and dumped the mixture in the middle. Then I used a spatula coated in Pam to spread it out and press it down so it was flat. They should be somewhere between 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch high. I kind of like how fat this one in the front came out and it’s about a 1/2 inch.

After you’ve got the mixture all spread out (you might need more than one cookie sheet), use the cookie cutter to cut circles. (You can spray it with Pam so it doesn’t stick.) You’ll want to use a flat spatula coated in Pam to lift them. Do not underestimate the stickiness of melted marshmallows! Pam is your friend. Pam is sort of like the most important ingredient in this whole recipe. Use her wisely! In fact, Mister Krisp even advises spraying it on your hands to mold Rice Krispies treats. We did just that and reworked the leftovers into a new layer of Rice Krispies treats to cut from. (Like those pictures behind Sophia? You can read all about our photo wall in this post.)

Sidenote: On the first batch, I completely forgot the food coloring! We decided to still use some of them (I mean, they taste the same!) even though they looked more like rice cakes. Oops. You can see the difference here.

All you have to do after you cut them is pipe on the frosting. I know this may sound daunting but if you’ve ever piped “Happy Birthday Whoever” onto a cake, you can do this. It’s just a series of little half circles and lines, plus some hearts, tongues and teardrops. (I kept this image from Mister Krisp up on my laptop as I worked.) I don’t have any shots of me actually piping it because my assistants were totally over me at this point but here’s my advise: keep the piping tip close to the Rice Krispies treats, move slowly, and squeeze hard. As long as you stay close and go slow, you can’t screw it up. If I ever make this again, I’ll invest some more tips because the biggest annoyance was taking the tip off and washing it before starting the next color. Here’s a process shot with just black and white icing.

But they really come to life once the other colors are added!

Some of them, like the little guy on the bottom left below, call for blush. I couldn’t find a tutorial from Mister Krisp so I just figured it out on my own.

I used some blood — just kidding! — but seriously, doesn’t it look like blood? It’s actually red gel food coloring. I put a little on a plate and used a foam brush to just dab a little color onto his cheeks. Just be sure to blot it A LOT on the paper plate before putting it on the emoji. I think it worked out pretty well for those little shy guys!

It was an easy, though somewhat time-consuming, project that looks a lot more impressive than I thought it would!

So, tell me…what’s your favorite emoji? I probably use the smooch lips the most because I “speak emoji” with my kids more than anyone else but I am partial to the wink and the heart eyes too!

Hope you’ll try this fun project!

XO

Sue at Home

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Okay, maybe not just three people but I do admit I have a pretty serious obsession with guacamole. In fact, I’ve made it my life’s work to perfect my guac recipe. And today I’m here to share it with you beautiful people. (By the way, that print above is a poster from a site called Dormify and I might have ordered it if it wasn’t from a site called Dormify.)

Now don’t think you’re going to get some secret ingredient here because my recipe is pretty basic. But with the right ratios of those basic ingredients, I think you’ll agree that this guacamole is pretty special.

I know I sound like I’m tooting my guacamole horn but I get requests to make guac for just about every party I go to but I recently had such a nice compliment that I figured this post was far past due. It all started when I made it for Sophia’s end-of-the-season soccer party and a bunch of people at the party asked for the recipe. Then a few weeks into the summer, I got this text from one of my fellow soccer moms: “Huge shout out to you for the guacamole recipe. I have made it 4 times for different events/people and everyone LOVES it. Thank you!!!” (So you can all thank Donna for her compliment because it made me finally get around to writing this post.)

I meant to share this recipe with the Sue at Home readers years ago but…I ate it. No — seriously. Back in 2012, I photographed every step of the chopping process but then once it was in the bowl, it disappeared so quickly that I never got a shot of the actual finished product. Oops. Luckily, I got some shots this time before I inhaled it so let’s get down to business, shall we?

First off, you’ll need 5-6 ripe avocados. Don’t even attempt this recipe if your avocados aren’t ripe because you’ll waste your time and end up with crappy guacamole. (And it won’t be my fault.) I get mine at Whole Foods because I like to bleed money they always have ripe ones. The rock-hard avocados that most stores sell won’t be ripe for about 6 days…and who wants to wait that long for guacamole?

You’ll need 1 or 2 vine-ripe tomatoes. I usually take most of the guts out but I leave a little to keep it juicy. Chop ’em up but don’t worry about getting them too small.

Most guacamole recipes call for red onions but since they’re disgusting and they repeat on me, I use spanish or vidala onions. Just a half an onion chopped up should do it. Now is a good time to mention that I use one bowl for the good stuff and one bowl for the junk because it makes me feel like I have my own cooking show. Oh — and my bowls are from Anthropologie (similar here) but you probably already knew that because I used them in the rainbow cake post.

Next up is the divisive cilantro. I know some people don’t like it. (In fact some people are even genetically predisposed to think that it tastes like soap. If you think I’m kidding, you’ve got to read this article in the New York Times. Apparently, even Julia Child hated the stuff.) But the recipe isn’t quite the same without it so just hope that you don’t have any of those cilantro haters in your audience. Grab a big handful off the bunch and chop it up. Technically, you’re supposed to pull the leaves off the stems but I never do and I’ve never had a complaint.

To give your guacamole a little kick without lighting your guest’s mouths on fire, a few jalapeno peppers should do the trick. This is one part of the recipe that has evolved over the years. I used to use one jalapeno, then two. Now I’m up to three or four. As long as you take the seeds out, the jalapenos will just add some nice flavor without too much heat. Just be sure to really mince them so your guac doesn’t have huge chunks of jalapeno. A couple tips: Cut the top off and then make a few little slices down the side with your paring knife. (See below) Then you can slide the knife in and separate the guts from the outside without getting seeds all over the place. And also — scrub your hands like crazy after handling jalapenos because if you don’t and you’re a contact lens wearer like me, your fingertips will burn your eyeballs like the depths of hell. (You’ve been warned.)

I like my guacamole nice and citrusy so I use the juice of a whole lime. Can’t you practically hear Tom Colicchio saying that my guacamole has “good acid”?

Two more things — which just might be the most important ingredients of all — salt and pepper. I’ve never measured the amount I put in but I can tell you that I’m very generous with the salt. Go ahead and mix everything up and then add salt and pepper to taste. I just keep adding salt until I think it’s perfect. (And to those eagle-eyed readers out there — yes, that’s the pepper shaker from the set of shakers we gave out as wedding favors 14 years ago! More on those here.)

Some people slice up the avocados before they scoop them out but I find that they mush up nicely without doing that. Just scoop them out with a spoon!

Of course, this is just a personal preference but I like to serve my guac with Tostitos Bite Size chips. If you use a bigger chip then you end up eating more chip and less guacamole and really…isn’t the guacamole the star, here?

You’ll definitely want to make this fresh right before you serve it or your guacamole will turn brown. But if you need to, go ahead and combine all of the ingredients (except for the avocados!) a day in advance and keep them in a closed container in the fridge so all the flavors can party and get to know each other.

Sue At Home’s Only Guacamole Recipe You’ll Ever Need

5-6 ripe avocados

1/2 spanish onion, chopped

1-2 vine-ripe tomatoes, chopped

1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped

3-4 jalapeno peppers, minced

Juice from a whole lime

Salt and Pepper to taste

**Serve with Tostitos Bite Size chips

Chop all of the ingredients and stir until mashed and combined. It makes a nice, big, party-size portion but it’ll go fast. (One time my friends ate the whole bowl while I was busy making mojitos. True story.)

Happy Guacamole Making!

XO

Sue at Home

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1. IT’S DONE! We’ve known for years that we would need to remodel the bathroom because the pipes were clogged and we couldn’t use the sink. (Yes, we had multiple plumbers attempt to fix it but they all determined that the wall would need to be removed to access the pipe.) So, after several years of brushing our teeth in the main bath, we can finally use our sink again and for that alone, I say Hallelujah!

2. WALL-TO-WALL COUNTERSPACE. Our old vanity was tiny (offering only an inch or two on the sides) so it made any basic task, like putting on makeup, extremely difficult. Even with all the pretty things in the new bathroom, the counterspace is probably my favorite feature! To have a daily task simplified like this feels like a great luxury to me. Oh – and did I mention that we lucked out by finding a pre-fab marble countertop at Home Depot that fit perfectly? It came with the sink and was a fraction of the cost of a custom marble top!

3. ART. I always knew I wanted some green in the bathroom and even considered banana leaf wallpaper but when I saw these prints from The Aestate (they’re the Beverly I & Beverly II trimmed to fit the frame), I knew they were perfect. (Bonus: they’re cheaper and less of a commitment – perfect for my fickle taste!) Note: The frames are from Crate and Barrel and the wall color is Benjamin Moore Cloud White.

4. AN INDUSTRIAL LIGHT. I fell in love with this gooseneck from Restoration Hardware and didn’t look much further. (Truth be told, if I could go back and change one thing, I’d go with thin sconces on the sides of the mirror instead of the overhead light. It’s cool but you can’t really see the gooseneck detail because it’s up so high.)

5. CERAMIC TILE. I’m obsessed! Isn’t it beautiful? I’ve got to give credit to Pablo on this one. (It’s the Circulos Black from Cement Tile Shop.) We were considering some classic small hex tile and he spotted this on my Pinterest board when I was showing him something else. Note: Our contractor had a lot of trouble with it. The dark grout stained the tiles and he had to buff them to get back to the correct color. So, please – if you ever use this kind of tile, be warned!

6. PRETTY TOWEL HOOKS. They’re from Anthro. Cute, huh?

7. A CUSTOM VANITY. Our contractor also happens to be a master woodworker and he made this beauty to our specifications and just like that, all my vanity dreams come true. (What? Am I the only one who dreams of bathroom furniture?) I love how it looks like a piece of furniture because it has feet and doesn’t quite reach the walls. And it gives us a lot more storage inside than our old one did! (The brass and green hardware is from Anthropologie but they’re sold out now. Sorry.)
8. A MODERN TOWEL RING AND HAND TOWELS. I labored over the hardware but decided that since we just needed a small hand towel, I didn’t want to use a rod. But finding a ring that doesn’t scream “welcome to 1983!” proved difficult. Enter this cheapie from Urban Outfitters (so cheap it didn’t even come with hardware)! I love it and it works perfectly with these thin Turkish towels from West Elm. (Pablo says he’s afraid to use them because they look too fancy!) I think he finally relaxed when I showed him that I bought a bunch of them – from grey to white. Here’s what it looks like with the white one:

9. WAINSCOTING. I originally wanted white subway tile in here but I’m so glad we decided to switch to wainscoting. It looks classic but the dark paint (Benjamin Moore Black Jack) makes it modern. Get this: our contractor MADE every piece of trim. He’s amazing!

10. A PRETTY T.P. HOLDER. I understand that I shouldn’t be this excited about hardware but isn’t it so nice? I love how the antique brass looks against the black wall. (It’s from Pottery Barn if you must know.)

11. ACCESSORIES. I’m not into lots of “stuff” on countertops so we only have a few accessories. I can’t find a soap dispenser I like so until I do, this J.R. Watkins Aloe and Green Tea hand soap while suffice. The malachite bowl from Hillary Thomas was a Christmas present from Pablo last year. I have a malachite obsession but I know there’s a little malachite fatigue in the market right now so I’m actually glad we only made a small investment in it. (This beauty is just the right size to hold rings while I’m washing my hands.)

We keep our toothbrushes in a green glass from Anthropologie. And of course we have a Baies candle cause, duh, it’s the best candle on earth.

12. A MASSIVE MEDICINE CABINET. We fell in love with the Rivet mirror/medicine cabinet from Restoration Hardware and having it inset makes the bathroom feel so much bigger than before. Plus it’s pretty and offers TONS of storage inside (so much that I even let Pablo have some)!

Do you hear the angels singing? Because I do every time I open it!
I hope you enjoyed this update as much as I love our new bathroom! Sorry for the no-bells-and-whistles blog post (i.e.: no links but plenty of crappy iPhone pictures). I haven’t written in so long and I just don’t have the time to do it the “right” way! Right now, it seems that life is more important than blogging for me. Sorry I’ve been MIA for so long but if you’re interested in what projects I’m up to, follow me on Instagram @sue_erneta. (Maybe I’ll eventually get around to writing a post about Sophia’s amazing Starbucks latte Halloween costume!)

XO

Sue at Home

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I know I’ve been missing in action for more than a few months but rather than discuss all the very boring reasons I haven’t been around (like less projects happening and less time to report on the few I have been doing), let’s just get to it, okay?

Sophia recently turned 10 (how did THAT happen??) and her big gift for her birthday was a bedroom update. She got a new headboard, bedding, a recycled rug (we got a new one for the living room and moved the old living room rug into her room), plus a full closet makeover. I also made a no-cost bulletin board for her with some old stuff we had around the house. Let’s see how it came out:

Sophia also recently made some washi tape updates: some stripes on her nightstand, a “framed” jewelry display and some decorations on her lightswitch.

Her curtains and her corner shelf are the same.

I can’t remember if she had the turquoise marquee heart when I last shard her room. It’s from Target but I don’t think they carry it anymore. Sorry! You can find a similar one here.

She wanted a bulletin board so I took an old one I had in the attic and spray painted the frame gold. Then I covered the cork with some old wallpaper that I’ve had in the attic for years. (See? Hording craft supplies does pay off!)

I love that she put up a mix of photos, some pages from the Crewcuts catalog, and pictures of her favorite stars (like Taylor Swift and Meghan Trainor) that she cut out of M magazine. (I love that my little big girl loves magazines as much as I do!)

Her desk/vanity looks pretty much the same. I think it’s her favorite thing in her room!

But her closet is totally new! I’m hoping to write a post with all the details of the makeover soon.

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Me and the girls have been huge fans of Mini Boden ever since Sophia was a toddler so when the brand asked me if I wanted to dress up my ladies in some Mini Boden goodies and be a Brand Ambassador, I jumped at the chance. The fall/winter collection has great new versions of many of our favorite styles so we had a really hard time editing down our picks! Here’s a peek at what we decided on and how we styled it with the rest of their wardrobes.

For Lily, we knew we needed to start with an applique t-shirt since we’ve always love the ones from Boden. They’re so soft and super-durable so we knew whatever we chose would last forever. And since Lily hasn’t met a rainbow she doesn’t love (remember her rainbow birthday party?), we knew the Dotty Applique T-shirt was the right pick. As you can see, she likes it! She really, really likes it!

We picked a classic coat for Sophia and I’m sure Lily will be wearing this beauty (the Two-in-one Padded Jacket) in three years. I love that the sleeves and hood come off so you can choose to wear it as a vest or as a coat.

Lily lived in an adorable Boden dress last winter (the Printed Tea Dress) so when I saw they were offering it in new prints this season, I snatched one up! Bonus: It’s machine washable (which is great because she’s worn it at least once a week). She even chose it as her “school picture” outfit! I can see her wearing this all winter with leggings and cardigans…and all summer long, too!

My favorite thing from the whole order was this Johnny B dress that I got for Soph. If you’re not well versed in Boden-speak, Johnny B is the “big kids” line that’s in between Mini Boden and Boden. Sizes range from 9-16 and though Sophia can still fit in Mini Boden, she tends to like the more “tween” styles of Johnny B. Case in point: the adorable Mabel dress. It’s basically a t-shirt dress that she can wear over leggings all winter but the way it fits her is what elevates the look.

I love how the sleeves are slim and a little longer than usual. And that pink trimmed exposed zipper is so pretty! (Doesn’t she look so grown up in it?)

Lily also scored the aptly named Pretty Printed Top which has got Boden written all over it – figuratively, of course. (These “ditsy” florals are a Boden fave. In fact, Soph LIVED in a cotton Johnny B dress all summer that had a similar print and Lil wore an old Mini Boden hand-me-down in this print tons, too.) I love how this top feels light and girly but the long sleeves make it perfect for fall. (With skinny jeans and boots, of course!)

Check out the little gold trim around the neckline!

Thanks again to Johnny Boden and all of ours friends at Mini Boden and Allison Brod for inviting us to be Mini Boden Ambassadors! I must admit, these little ladies wear it well!

XO

Sue at Home

Full disclosure: Mini Boden provided us with a gift card to shop with (which just scratched the surface of our seasonal Boden purchases!). But you know that all opinions are mine and I would never promote a brand that I didn’t truly believe in, right?

P.S. Tis the season! I made a double batch of Pumpkin Whoopie Pies today and you should too! Click the picture below for details and recipe info. You know you want to.

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Hi! I’m Sophia, Sue’s nine year old daughter. Today, I’m going to show you how super easy it is to redo a desk for your room in just one weekend. Welcome to Sophia at Home!

Step 1: Ask mom for a desk for your room for the millionth time.

Step 2: Rearrange the furniture in your room for a few minutes with your mom to see if a desk will even fit. Mom gets that look in her eyes that she gets when she’s got a good idea. You can practically see the lightbulb above her head!

Step 3: Say thanks as Mom and Dad present you with a dirty old wood desk that’s been hiding in the attic for years.

It’s pretty gross looking but you love it anyway. (You decide not to mention that the little cube is never going to work as a chair. One thing at a time. One thing at a time.)

Step 5: Start by sanding the top and sides of the top. (You’re only painting the top panel and leaving the legs au natural ’cause you’re cool like that.) Towel all the dust off after. Note that you should be wearing “work” clothes but that’s no reason to not have on chic protective eyewear.)

Step 7: Paint the top with primer. Make sure you paint with the grain of the wood!

Step 8: Get bored and take a break while your assistant finishes up.

Step 9: Let your primer dry and call it a day.

Step 10: Get back to work in the morning. Roll on Benjamin Moore’s Mountainview (aka mint). Luckily your mom had some leftover from painting the inside of the kitchen cabinet. This is what your mom likes to call a “no cost DIY”. Note: jammies make for great “work clothes” in a pinch.

Step 11: Let it dry and then have your assistants carry it back to your room. Thank mom profusely and then tell her about the chair problem. (Make sure you break it to her nice and easy.)

Step 12: Watch the lightbulb go off over mom’s head again as she remembers an old chair she originally planned on painting for the den for this project. It’s currently collecting dust in the garage. (Mom gets so excited about having a solution that she forgets to take a before shot of the chair but luckily she has this one from when she bought it. It’s the little black one on the left which she picked up for $2.99!)

Step 13: Marvel as mom takes the chair apart and proceeds to paint the legs with gold spray paint and the seat and back in paint that match your ‘new old’ desk.

Step 14: Bask in the glory of your awesome new cost-nothing desk!

The old-school keyboard tray is now a drawer for my school supplies, jewelry, and other important kid stuff,

Because this is a combo desk/vanity, earrings have the same prominent placement as pencils.

Isn’t the chair unrecognizable? I love it!

Thanks for letting me crash the blog, mom!

Bye!
XO

Sue SOPHIA at Home

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I’m here with a quick post to tell you about an amazing dessert I made yesterday. I didn’t photograph all the steps but I heard so many “I need the recipe!” comments at the BBQ that I brought them to, I figured I’d write a quick post to tell you where to go to find it.

I had never made a cookie bar before but when I saw this recipe for S’mores Bars on Life in Grace, I just had to make it.

It starts with a cookie dough-like mix of graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, vanilla, brown sugar, white sugar, and of course, butter. You start by spreading half of the dough into the bottom of a greased pan. (Follow Edie’s tip about spreading it with a knife dipped in warm water. I used the backside of a metal spatula – like this one – and the water trick made it really easy.) After the dough, you layer Hershey chocolate bars and then marshmallow fluff.

After the fluff, you just add the rest of the dough on top, add a handful of mini marshmallows, and bake. They were such a huge hit that I almost missed having one at the party! I was knee-deep in an intense game of cornhole and just couldn’t break away. You understand, right? Luckily I had Pablo snag one for me before they were gone.

It was a little time consuming but very easy. If I can make it, you can too!

So head on over to Edie’s awesome blog Life In Grace and read her whole play-by-play of how to make them. While you’re there, check out her stunning home that’s full of personal style. Her sexy, moody master bedroom and colorful, busy workroom are two of my favorites.

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I’m back today with a belated post about Lily’s Lalaloopsy-themed birthday party. You might remember back in May, I showed you the DIY invitations I made using cardstock, washi tape, some Picmonkey layouts, and a custom Lalalily logo that my awesome sister-in-law made. (Lily says thanks Aunt Paola!)

We lucked out with the weather once again for Lily’s party which was good because it was at our house.

A sign on the door with the custom Lalalily logo greeted guests and let them know they were at the right house. (FYI: That’s a Lalaloopsy doll. And a Lalalily.)

We hired a face painter from Bella Faccia who worked on all of the kids. She came early to do Lily and Sophia and when kids arrived they got a numbered sticker on their hand so they wouldn’t have to stand in line. Ann did an amazing job and all the kids were thrilled!

Note to local friends: They’re the ones that are always at the Westfield streetfair on the corner of East Broad and Prospect. They’re not cheap but they were worth it!

We also “hired” Sophia and her friend to do temporary tattoos for all the kids. We used an old Discovery Kids lemonade stand as a tattoo booth and I let the kids decorate it with neon signs I bought at the Dollar Store. They took their job very seriously and even made sure all the dads and grandpas were covered in tattoos!

As for the desserts, I made two cakes and some chocolate covered pretzels which were so ridiculously delicious they were the surprise hit of the party. Details coming soon. (Actually that’s a lie. The real surprise hit was my pomegranate margaritas. The kids loved them! Kidding. But they were awesome and you’ll get the recipe for those soon, too.)

I decorated the pretzels with some rainbow colored sugars that I already had. (I mean, doesn’t everyone have decorative sugars in every color of the rainbow like I do?)

The other cake got a two-sided sign with that custom Lalalily logo. I made it by making two prints on cardstock, using a plate to trace a round shape on the top, cutting it, and then attaching the prints onto three skewers with tape. That makes it sound complicated but it really was very simple. And certainly simpler than writing the logo in frosting or crafting it out of fondant (which is far past my cake making skill set).

Lily was not very excited about her mini Lalaloopsys being on the cake but after I promised that I’d clean them up, she allowed it. (I starting having flashbacks to a similar glue and Polly Pocket situation with Soph’s school project that strangly is my most read post. I guess a lot of people need to build wigwams.)

If you know me, you know I like some colored cake (Exhibit A: Lily’s rainbow cake!) so it may come as no surprise to see that the cakes were pink and turquoise inside. (Bonus: Duncan Hines has made it just too easy with pre-colored Blue Velvet and Pink Velvet vanilla flavored box mixes!)

Lil had a great time and we were so happy to have my parents with us to celebrate! (Note to self and anyone considering having a face painter at your kid’s birthday party: Just remember that your kids will look like this in any nice family pictures from the soiree. As long as you’re cool with that, paint away!)

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Hi, I'm Sue. Welcome to my home!
Sue at Home is about my life outside of work. I'm a part-time magazine fashion editor and a full-time mom in the 'burbs. I love renovating my mid-century home, hunting for interior design ideas, being silly with my stylish kids, looking for fun and easy fashion inspiration, and doing all things crafty and creative. (All opinions are mine and not those of my employer.)